We are living in cynical, trying times. A global pandemic, political paralysis, and unbelievable weather disasters. And those are just the hors d’oeuvres. I’ve noticed a lot more snark in blog comments and my social media pages over the past few months (you know who you are!), especially about the state of broadcast radio. I’m sure that in my own way, I’ve contributed, too. Many of us expect more from the industry we grew up with and still love today.
I’ve written before about how radio always seems to step up when disaster strikes local communities – covering severe weather events, mass shootings, and other community crises. Radio always seems to come through during emergencies, despite the obvious staffing and budgetary pressures that so many stations are facing. That’s what we do.
We hear others (or even ourselves) talk about how broadcast radio can’t measure up to the depth, the variety, and the commercial free-ness of audio streaming platforms and satellite radio, or the amazing relationships podcast hosts have with their minions. And while radio has its share of challenges, the industry doesn’t always market itself and trumpet its truly amazing accomplishments. No doubt about it. Broadcast radio is under a lot of stress.
That’s why when my brother Bill Jacobs sent me a story this week from the Poynter Institute about a certain radio station and a morning host in small town Kentucky, it grabbed my attention.
(By the way, when you read this story today or over the weekend – and I urge you to do so and to forward it along – you might also note how amazing Poynter’s overall coverage of this weather calamity truly has been. Several of their stories are linked under “More From Poynter.”)
This particular story goes right to the core, starting with its title:
“How a local radio station is helping a tornado-battered Kentucky community put itself back together”
Written by Al Tompkins – a consummate journalist/storyteller – this story will grab you as a human being. But as a radio person, if it doesn’t bring a tear to your eye, well then it may be time to hang up those headphones and turn in your sales kits.
It’s the story of a woman who loves radio as much as you do. Tess Cowan is the morning host in Princeton, Kentucky on WPKY, an 250 watt AMer. Around noontime, she drives 19 miles to her other gig 0n afternoon drive at WKDZ in Cadiz.
Her coverage area was part of the real estate where those storms hit last week. Three people died when the tornadoes touched down in Tess’ town and the nearby environs.
The mother of three kids, Tess grew up in the area, and after working in bigger markets in Indiana and Texas, she had to get home to take care of her three kids, one with special needs. It turns out WPKY was the station where she got her start when she first broke into radio.
I know that’s relatable for many of you who first learned the radio ropes in a similar radio station in a small town.
After the deadly storms passed through, Tess took one look at the damage in front of her, and rather than heading home to make sure her own house was still standing, Tess Cowan uttered those famous words I know many of you would say under similar circumstances:
“I have to get to the radio station.”
For the next several days, that AM radio station has served as “information central” for its ravaged, broken community, a beacon of hope for everyone who lives there. But that’s what radio does.
Tess Cowan is brave, courageous, and deserves all these accolades and more. I hope she wins a Marconi. But the fact is, many of you would have done the same thing.
Because that’s what radio people do.
When you ask someone who’s been in this business for more than a minute about their best day in radio, chances are it had something to do with a disaster, probably a local one.
Maybe it had something to do with 9/11 or COVID or when that ice storm hit or when that airplane crashed outside of town or when those fires raged up and down the coast.
The best days for radio people are often the worst days for everyone else. But that’s because we serve communities. We’re not a playlist service or a recorded on-demand show or a program heard around the world.
We’re a local service licensed to serve cities, towns, and communities. And when they need it the most, that’s when we do our best work.
WPKY’s owner, Beth Mann, says it best:
“When everyone else is gone, we are still here. We are community stewards. It is our job to connect the dots for people, to help them find the help they will need. And we will be key to building back the economic base of this town. It will be more important than ever for us to stress that we all have to support our local businesses.”
And Mann wrapped it up with this:
“In times like these, a local radio station can bring a community together.”
Not Spotify. Not SiriusXM. Not yet another podcast company.
The local radio station.
It seems every “What’s wrong with radio?” story, blog post, or whinefest over beers ends up with someone saying the following:
“We need to do a better job telling our story.”
Well, Al Tompkins just teed it up for us. Oddly, this story hasn’t received much coverage, even in the radio business. Maybe it’s because those storms didn’t touch down in New York City, Miami, Houston, or New Orleans. Too often, we just shake our heads over “those poor folks in Kentucky” and go on about our business.
That would be a mistake. What happened in Princeton, Kentucky can happen anywhere in this country.
We shouldn’t have to wait for deadly weather or catastrophes to serve our communities and do great radio.
Hats off to Tess Cowan, Elizabeth Mann, and all the hard-working radio people across storm-slammed Kentucky who have acted as community first-responders in this crisis.
And to Al Tompkins for covering an important story with respect and professionalism.
And hats off to all of you keeping your radio stations on the air, day in and day out, during the worst of times when others might have thrown in the towel and taken coding classes or gone back to law school.
You’re in radio. You’ve got a great story to tell.
So tell it.
Read Al Tompkins’ story here. And then share it.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Outstanding story and the true service of local radio. Imagine if someone returned that town’s radio license because it didn’t service a purpose? The FCC License PICON (Public Interest, Convenience and Necessity) still and always means a great deal to the signal area…and now all the people within the sound of our voice, on Alexa and Digital Stream. Yesterday, I heard the outstanding clear quality of an AM HD station for over 40 miles in the car, near Framingham MA. Never forget the potential and service of the license granted to us. Please do right by what we can broadcast.
Clark, a great reminder. Thanks for commenting on this post, and for spreading the word.
Very good story and a true testament to radio’s “commitment to community”. Al Tompkins makes an excellent point about radio needing to do a better job of telling it’s story. Sadly, most don’t care about radio’s story outside the largest metros. And that’s the problem! As a third generation small market broadcaster I can attest to the fact that radio outside of the metros is still very traditional …. radio. And one that works! All the surveys that are conducted regarding our industry, from programming to sales; many done by your company Fred, do not fully and accurately take into account the lifestyles and listening habits of radio outside of the metro markets. It’s frustrating for me. It’s time for our industry – those who work in it, write about it, blog about it, and consult begin to have a fuller understanding and appreciation of what goes on in rural market USA. Maybe even get out from behind their keyboard from time to time and take a ride out “into the country” and experience small market radio firsthand. Maybe then radio’s “story” will be articulated with true HD clarity!
Michael, I appreciate your frustration. To clarify a few of your points. Our Techsurveys are open to every commercial radio station in the U.S. – whether they’re in Philly, Peoria, or Paduka, at no charge. Could we do a better job of analyzing big vs. medium vs. small markets? Yes, we can and we will.
My second point is that while we work with radio stations in L.A., Philly, Chicago, and Phoenix, we also work for radio stations in companies in northern Michigan, the dairyland of Wisconsin, Duluth, Kalispell, Watertown, and many other small and even unrated markets. And we always have.
We also work with (consulting and speaking) with many state broadcaster associations, from Michigan to Indiana to Wisconsin to Oklahoma. Most of the time, each state’s large market broadcasters are way outnumbered by those small town, rural radio folks you talk about in your comment.
I love blogging about these small market heroes. I will make the point to do it more often in 2022. Thanks for your heartfelt comment, Michael.
Bravo! Directly on target. Thanks, Fred
Appreciate the comment, Mitch. Please pass Al Tompkins’ WPKY story on.
It’s the companies who have been allowed to grow unfettered by our FCC and DoJ.
As a recall, something like this did happen in Louisville recently. The worse power outage in 30 years hit the metro area when the remnants of Hurricane Ike moved over Kentucky in September of 2008. The airport was shut down and ATC tower was evacuated. Schools were cancelled for a week. Our local conglomerate radio was nowhere to be found. They were all in voice track mode for the weekend, and budget cuts made sure nobody was available to tell anyone what was going on or where to get help.
Smaller broadcasters like Beth Mann are keeping the soul of broadcasting alive while the larger broadcasters are trying to sell it out as fast as they can.
Carter, thanks for the reminder. The WPKY story is a great one, and it underscores the importance and value of committed, local ownership.
Hi, My name is Lalo. And I have been snarking my whole life.
Nevertheless. This is one of those stories that should remind us that service is the reason. It doesn’t matter what the bean-counters say. It doesn’t matter whether the sales department met the goal for the quarter. Go to your station license and look at it. Read the messages you have to read when that license is up for renewal. “granted a license by the FCC…” to serve your city of license. For those of us working in big markets at big stations or for big groups. It doesn’t matter if your market has a hundred stations. Remember that your community is your audience. It may be a subset of a larger community…but you still have to be there for them.
Thanks for the comment, Lalo. And on the “Snark-ometer,” I’m right there with you.
I appreciate you underscoring the meanings of service and community, terms that often get lost when there are discussions of KPIs, ROI, and EBITDA. (How’s that for some acronymic snark?)
Whoa!
Excellent- and an “:Amen” from the chorus,,,,
And why not. The Coast has had “its turn” with those deadly fires. Radio is more than just disaster coverage, to be sure, but we absolutely need to tell – and re-tell – these stories because they are part of the narrative that positively sets radio apart.
What single word sums up radio’s homefield advantage? Immediacy. Right there, right now.
Just as most police officers in their entire careers never have to draw their firearm other than at the range, maybe most radio folk never have to step up the way she and her colleagues did in Princeton KY. But as someone more poetic than I once said, “they also serve who only stand and wait.” Fifty years ago at my first station, I was drafted to assist reportage of riots on our university campus (famous place on the west coast, guess which one). It’s a life-altering experience, Fred, but not necessarily a bad one. Helps you learn what’s important and what isn’t. Radio at its best is the former.
Spot on, John. I worry the next generation of radio pros might not enjoy that indescribable sensation of being “in the room where it happened” with a live mic.
Just in case, Radio Ink had an interview with the market manager for Saga’s cluster in Jonesboro (northeast Arkansas)…
https://radioink.com/2021/12/14/how-one-radio-company-covered-the-devastating-tornadoes
Even though it’s somewhat of a different situation, there’s still a lot in common.
Thanks for sharing that one, Eric. That’s exactly what those of us in radio need to do.
Outstanding story especially your thoughts as to how even our industry missed what this radio station and young lady did. I know lots of publicity this past week about radio stations raising money for charities. That’s great but this is an amazing story about an amazing woman who took the phrase “liver and local” to whole new level. Thanks for this!!!
Thanks, John. Our company works closely with the Children’s Miracle Networks Hospitals with radio stations around the country. They do amazing work, and I am personally proud of what they accomplish on behalf of local children’s hospitals. It is wonderful to see radio’s trades listing the industry tote board of money raised. But you are correct the Princeton, Kentucky / WPKY story is a special one. And Tess Cowan, Elizabeth Mann, and their team deserve to have their story told – and retold.
Wow, Fred, thank you so much for this column, and thanks especially for the link to the Poynter story. It should be required reading everyone who loves–and still believes in–radio.
What can a 250 watt AM radio station do? Just ask the people of Princeton, Kentucky.
Ok, radio, now it’s your turn: “Green light, go.”
Thanks for taking the time to read Al Tompkins’ story, Dave. I hope everyone in radio reads it.